Inflatable dock

ABSTRACT

A dock assembly comprising a platform section and also a counterweight section. The platform section comprises a main central panel section made of a drop-stitch panel, and also a side closure portion to provide its buoyancy. The counterweight section comprises flexible containing members that can be filled with water and positioned in or below water so that the weight of the mass of water has no affect, but does have a counter-balance effect in certain portions of the assembly are being lifted above the operating elevation.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority benefit of U.S. Ser. No. 61/018,345,filed Dec. 31, 2007.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

a) Field of the Disclosure

The present invention relates to a floating inflatable dock.

b) Background Information

There are various applications where inflated members are used tosupport persons, cargo, equipment and other objects. There are certainadvantages to having these inflatable members, such as in being able toinsert them and remove them from a water environment, ship these toother locations for use, stow them in certain locations and then inflatethem for temporary use.

However, one of the disadvantages of these can be stability. Tostabilize various flotation members, or nautically related travelingequipment ballast is used in the form of various objects of higherdensity to add weight to the support portions of the inflatableapparatus, systems or objects.

It is toward these and other related problems which the embodiments ofthe present invention are directed.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

There is a dock assembly 10 which comprises a platform section having aninflatable chamber and also a counterweight section. The platformsection comprises a main central panel section made of a drop-stitchpanel, and also a side closure portion to provide its buoyancy. Thecounterweight section comprises flexible containing members that can befilled with water and positioned in or below water so that the weight ofthe mass of water has no affect while it is immersed in the water, butfunctions as a counter-balance if certain portions of the assembly arebeing lifted above the operating elevation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of a dock assembly ofthe present invention with the dock assembly having a squareconfiguration;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the square shaped dock assembly shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the dock assembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view showing three components which are formedinto a sheet which is in turn used as part of a drop-stitch structureflotation platform section of the dock assembly;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view illustrating the basic structure of adrop-stitch panel section of the flotation platform section;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the flotation platform section ofthe dock utilizing the structure of FIG. 5, and also its perimeterclosure section;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 6, but showing only oneedge portion of the panel of FIG. 6 drawn to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 8 is a side-elevational view of the dock assembly looking in adiagonal direction toward one of the four counterbalance members andtoward the center of the dock assembly with a load being imposed at thecenter of the dock assembly;

FIG. 9 is a side-elevational view showing the dock assembly from thesame location as in FIG. 8, but showing a load being imposed on a corneredge portion of the dock assembly and also illustrating the manner inwhich the several forces are imposed on the dock assembly;

FIG. 10 is a side-view similar to FIG. 8, except that the view is takenfrom a location looking toward one of the side edge portions of the dockassembly in a direction perpendicular to that side edge portion with adownward load being imposed at the center of the dock assembly;

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10, showing the way force componentswould be imposed upon the dock assembly location of that side edge;

FIGS. 12A-12E are four semi-schematic drawings illustrating varioussituations relating to the dock assembly;

FIG. 13 is an isometric view of a second embodiment; and

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken at 14-14 of FIG. 13.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference first to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the dock assembly 10 of thisfirst embodiment comprises a platform section 12 and a counterweightsection 14. The counterweight section 14 in turn comprises fourcounterweight members 15 at the corners of the platform section 12.

The platform 12 comprises a main central panel section 16 having in planview in this embodiment a rectangular shape (and in this embodiment asquare shape). The panel section 16 is made as a drop-stitch panel 16,and it has a perimeter closure section 18. The panel section 16 and theperimeter closure section 18 together form the platform section 12 whichcan be considered to be a flotation platform section 12, which has aninflatable pressure chamber 17.

To describe in more detail the nature of the drop-sheet panel 16,reference is now made FIGS. 4 through 7.

As indicated above, the drop-sheet panel section 16 has upper and lowersheets 19 and 20. To make each of these sheets 19 and 20, as shown inFIG. 4, there is first provided upper and lower thin polymer layers 22and a middle layer of a tri-axial or bi-axial threads 23, with thesebeing laminated between the layers 22. Thus, these two layers 22 and thecore layer form a unitary sheet, and these are the sheets 19 and 20.Then these two layers 19 and 20 are connected to one another by a largenumber of closely spaced threads 21 to form the panel as shown in FIG.5.

The two sheets 19 and 20 are flexible, but they cannot be stretched.Also, the threads 21 are flexible, but these also cannot be stretched.Drop-stitch panels are commercially available with threads of variouslengths.

With reference now to FIGS. 6 and 7, there is shown in cross-section thedrop-stitch panel 16 with the perimeter closure section 18. As can beseen in FIG. 7, the perimeter closure section 18 comprises outerperimeter edge portions 24 and 26 of the upper and lower sheets 19 and20 extend a short distance beyond the perimeter edge of the threads 21.There is a central main enclosing portion 28 of the perimeter closuresection 18 and it has the configuration of an elongate thin sheet 28which has edge portions 30 which overlap the outer perimeter portions 24and 26 of the sheets 19 and 20. These outer perimeter portions 24 and 26and the edge portions 30 are bonded to one another to form an air-tightand water-tight perimeter for the panel 16 to form with the upper andlower sheets in the inflatable pressure chamber 17.

With reference to FIG. 1, let us now turn our attention to thecounterweight section 14 which in this embodiment comprises the fourcounterweight members 15. Each of these four counterweight members 15comprises a flexible water-containing configuration 36 which has theoverall configuration of a rectangular prism. Each counterweight member15 comprises four sidewalls 38 and a bottom floor member 40. Thesidewall members 38 have a moderate taper toward one another in adownward direction, so that each sidewall member has a slightlytrapezoidal shape.

The upper edge portions of the four sidewalls 38 have a water-tightconnection to the bottom sheet 20 so that each of these defines awater-tight chamber, which in this present embodiment is filled withwater in its operating position in a body of water. Each of thesecounterweight members 15 has one or more valves shown schematically at41 through which water can flow to fill the counterweight member 15 orto empty it.

These counterweight members 15 are made of a flexible material, so thatwhen the dock is in its non-operating position, it can be folded up in acompact storage configuration. The platform section 12 has one or moreair-inlet and outlet valves shown at 43 so that the platform section 12can be inflated or deflated.

To describe now the operation of the present invention, reference willbe made first to FIGS. 8 and 9. The dock assembly 10 is madesubstantially entirely of flexible material so that it can have aninflated operating configuration, and also a compact stowageconfiguration where the components are folded up into a storageconfiguration.

To place the dock assembly 10 in its operating condition, there are twomajor steps. One step is to inflate the platform section 12 topressurize its interior to a relatively high pressure level (i.e. 5 to10 PSI (pounds per square inch) or possibly more).

One of the characteristics of the drop-stitch configuration of aninflatable member is that when it is pressurized to a relatively highlevel, it is structurally substantially rigid. Thus, the platformsection 12 maintains its configuration of having flat upper and lowersurfaces 19 and 20 and a rounded perimeter closure section 18 which, inperforming its functions, is able to withstand rather large forcesapplied to it and deviates from its regular configuration only slightly.Thus, for all practical purposes, the platform section 12 can beregarded as a relatively light-weight rigid panel, capable ofmaintaining its basic configuration and supporting rather substantialloads, but with a very small degree of bending under high loads.

The other step is to fill each of the four counterweight members 15 withwater through one or more of the valves 41. After each of thesecounterweight members 15 is filled with water, the valve(s) 41 is/areshut, and the water remains within the structure of the counterweightmember 15.

FIG. 8 illustrates the dock assembly 10 in its operating position on awater surface with the flotation platform section 12 inflated to asufficiently high pressure and with each of the counterweight members 15being filled to full capacity with water. The platform section 12 is theflotation member. With regard to the counterweight members 15, theflexible water impervious material of which the counterweight section 14is made has by itself very little weight. Thus, with each of thecounterweight members 15 being filled with water, and being totallyimmersed in the water these counter-balance members 15 impose no loadson the floatation platform section 12.

In FIG. 8 there is shown a single force component 50 which representsthe weight of a container or one or more persons imposed at the middlelocation of the flotation platform section 12. Since this force 50 is ata central location on the platform section 12, that force is distributedsubstantially equally throughout the entire platform section 12. Thiswould cause the platform section 12 to be positioned a short distanceinto the top surface portion of the water the water, and level isillustrated at 52.

A typical small to medium square dock made as an embodiment of thisinvention could have dimensions, for example, of its four side portionsbeing 8-feet in length. Thus, the area of the flotation platform sectionwould be 8-feet squared, which would make this 64-square feet. Withregard to the depth-dimension of the platform section 12, in a typicalembodiment, this depth-dimension which would be equal to the length ofthe threads 21 of the platform section 12 could be about 8-inches (i.e.two-thirds of a foot).

If we then calculate the volume of the inflated inside chamber or regionof the platform section 12, that would come out to approximately43-cubic feet. If we now calculate the total force it would take tototally submerge the platform section 12, assuming the weight of thewater to be 62.5 pounds per cubic feet that would come out to over orabout approximately 2,500-pounds of force. Now, however, if we assumethat the applied force 50 is equal to, for example, 250-pounds, thatwould cause the platform section 12 to sink downwardly into the upperwater surface portion by ten percent of the depth of the panel section12. In FIG. 8 the upper surface of the water is indicated at 52, butFIG. 8 is not intended to be drawn to scale.

It is to be understood that the platform section could have otherrelative dimensions and shapes, such as an eight-foot by six-footrectangle, etc.

In FIG. 9 we look at a situation where the load 50 which is imposed onthe center of the dock assembly 10 is moved to become the load 54 at thecorner location 56 corner of the platform section 12. We will assumethat the magnitude of this force 54 of the load is enough so that itwould cause the platform section 10 to tilt somewhat so that the onecorner indicated at 56 would descend downwardly into the water, possiblyas much as 6-inches or so.

The effect of this section 56 moving further into the water would resultin an upward movement of the opposite corner of the dock assembly beinglifted up from the water at the same time there is an upward force beingapplied against the bottom surface portion of the platform section 12 atthe corner location. The pattern of this upward force of the displacedwater is indicated by several arrows 58, and this force indicated at 58would decrease from left to right until it reaches a middle location ofthe platform section 12, and this would cause the opposite end of theplatform at 60 to move upwardly in a slant. The drawing of FIG. 9 is notnecessarily drawn to scale, but is presented to show the basic movementswhen this sort of force is applied at an off center location.

At this point, let us consider further various effects of having thefour counterweight members 15. As long as these counterweight members 15are fully submersed in the water, there is no effect at all in theflotation characteristics of the platform section 12. As indicatedearlier, the material that makes up the walls of each of the fourcounterweight members 15 has little weight, and of course the waterwhich is within the counterweight members 15 would exert no force atall, neither upward nor downward relative to the platform section 12.

However, assuming that the load 54 of the weight that is imposed at anoff center location upon the panel section 12 is great enough, then theoppositely positioned counterweight member indicated at 60 a in FIG. 9would begin to rise upwardly from the water, and the amount of water inthe member 60 a which is above the actual water level would act as acounter-balancing weight that would limit the opposite end portion 61 ofthe platform section 12 from moving further downwardly. Thus, this wouldcounteract the downward force 54 imposed at the opposite end of theflotation section 12.

At this point, let us analyze the application of the forces shown inFIG. 9. If we look at the flotation force as indicated by the many smalllines at 58, we could resolve this into a single resultant forcecomponent which would be the summation of these, and that is numbered at62. Then the downward force of the weight of the water at 60 a isindicated by the arrow 64. The force component 62 is directed in anupward direction, while the two downward forces 54 and 64 are onopposite sides of the force 62. Thus, for the vertical forces tobalance, the sum of the forces 54 and 64 would have to be equal to theforce 62.

Also, to complete this analysis of the forces it is necessary to alsoresolve the force moments. We first look to the single upward force 62as what we can term a “pivot location” about which the two forces at 54and 64 must balance out. It can be seen that the moment arm extendingbetween the two forces 62 and 64 is at least six-times as long as themoment arm from the forces 62 and 54. Thus, the force 64 would be onlyabout one-sixth of the downward force imposed at 54. Thus, the downwardload at 54 which is imposed on the platform section 12 could besix-times as great as the downward force 64 imposed by that portion ofthe counterweight member 14 that has the water-portion 60 a above thelevel of the surrounding water.

With reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, let us now look at another situationwhere the load that is imposed on the platform section 12 is at amid-location of edge portion of the dock assembly 10 which is locatedequally between two of the counterbalance members 14, this force isindicated at 70 in FIG. 11. This has caused that whole edge portion ofthe platform section to be positioned more downwardly into water, andthe resultant buoyancy force of the water is indicated at 72. Again, wehave the situation where the opposite side portion of the dock is raisedout of the water, and the amount of water which is above the level ofsurrounding water is indicated at 74. This results in a downward forceat 76.

We now have a similar situation to that of FIGS. 8 and 9, in that all ofthese forces need to balance out with regard to both the verticallyapplied forces, and also the force moments that are created. It canreadily be seen that the platform section is able to carry a somewhatgreater load about the edge portion, with the two oppositecounter-balancing members 14 preventing further tipping of the platformsection 12.

It is believed that a better appreciation of characteristics of thepresent invention will be obtained by examining these in more detail. Toaccomplish this, reference is made to FIGS. 12A through 12F.

In FIG. 12A the flotation platform section 12 is shown floating with thewater line shown at 52. The weight of the material of the platformsection 12 is rather light, so there is shown a rather small forcecomponent 77 which would be, for example, the weight at possibly at 100to 200 pounds.

Then in FIG. 12B there is shown a cargo container 78 that is placedalong of the side edges of the platform section 12 to explore the effectof having off center loading. The effect of the weight of this cargocontainer is not shown in FIG. 12A, but is shown in FIG. 12B.

We will assume that the flotation platform section 12 has the chambervolume as discussed earlier in this text so that it would be about25,000 cubic feet. FIG. 12C shows the same cargo container 78 in FIG.12A with the weight of the cargo container having in effect a downwardforce component 80 which causes the container 78 to push the right handside of the platform section down to the extent that the upper surfaceof the floating platform 12 is at the right side at the same level asthe water line 52.

In FIG. 12C the upward flotation force of the water acts against theentire bottom surface of the flotation platform 12, so that this forceextends across the entire bottom surface of the flotation platform 12.The entire flotation force applied against the bottom of the flotationplatform is indicated by a multiplicity of arrows 84.

An inspection of FIG. 12C will reveal that the components are in anunstable position. It can be seen that on the right hand part of FIG.12C there is the downward force component 80 which results from theweight of the cargo container, and there is also the upward flotationforce which is shown by the many arrows 84 representing the upwardpressure forces of the flotation platform 12. Then in the left hand sideof FIG. 12C there are the upward forces from the water pressing upwardlyto raise the left hand side of the flotation platform 12. However, thereis no force component to counter the effect of the water force component82 so that the applied force as shown in FIG. 12C would be cause upwardmovement of the left hand side of the flotation platform 12, and wouldend up in the same situation shown in FIG. 12E.

Reference is now made to FIG. 12D which shows one way by which thisunstable situation of 12C could be resolved. In FIG. 12D the instabilityof the situation of FIG. 12C is accomplished by placing another load inthe form of a smaller cargo container 86 on the top left hand surface ofthe flotation platform 12. Therefore, it can be seen in FIG. 12D that onthe right hand side there is a rather substantial upward force of thewater against the floating flotation platform 12 because of the greaterdepth of the right side of the platform 12, and this matches the higherload capacity of the cargo container 78. Then the smaller cargocontainer 86 has a matching downward force component.

FIG. 12E illustrates a situation which could occur as soon as the fullweight of the cargo container 78 is put in the position of FIG. 12C. Asindicated in FIG. 12A, the physical components of the flotation platform12 are quite light, as indicated by the force component 77. Let us nowlook at FIG. 12C and we see the force component 82 which is something ofa summation of the upward water forces that occur to the left of thelocation of the cargo container 78. The effect of this is what we see inFIG. 12E, which is the left hand part of the flotation platform 12 isbeing raised out of the water. At the same time the force 80 exerted bythe weight of the cargo container 78 is sufficiently high so that it isbeginning to rotate downwardly in a clockwise direction, and the entireleft part of the flotation platform 12 is being raised out of the water.

If the cargo 78 is tied down to the floating platform 12 then the upwardmovement of the left part of the flotation section 12 and the downwardrotation of the cargo container 76 continues. The cargo container 78would continue its downward descent in the water. In the situationdiscussed thus far, the total interior volume of the flotation platform12 is sufficiently great so that it would remain buoyant, and the lefthand side of the flotation platform would have its left hand portionrising out of the water where it would be visible.

On the other hand, if the cargo container 18 was not secured to theupper surface of the flotation platform 12, then the cargo container 78would simply drop off from the platform 12 and likely go to the bottomof that body of water, and the flotation platform 12 would fall back toits level position above the water as shown in FIG. 12A.

To close off this analysis, reference is now made to FIG. 12F whichshows how the problems shown in FIG. 12C could be solved by thearrangement of the embodiments of the present invention. There is shownin FIG. 12F only one of the counter-balance members 15, but in thearrangement of FIG. 11 there would be two of the counter-balancingmembers 15 at opposite corners of the left side. So the result is asshown in FIG. 12F, and the upward rotational movement of the left sideof the flotation platform is diminished. Then, as more of thecounter-balance 15 is out of the water the counter-balancing functionincreases.

The description of the platform sections 12 which is in the earlier partof this text shows the platform section in a rectangular configuration,and more specifically in a square configuration, and the four separatecounterweight members 15 are at corner locations of the squarerectangle. As a general comment, these counterweight members 15 areevenly spaced from one another to have the counter-balancing effect in a“broader territory”, and they are located at the corner portions of theplatform section 12.

This arrangement of the counter-balancing effects of the counterweightmember 15 are distributed throughout the entire outer perimeter portionsof the platform section 12. Also, depending upon where the downward forand/or load is located, the counter-balancing function may be performedby a single counterweight member 15, or a combination of two of thecounterweight members 15.

A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described withreference to FIGS. 13 and 14. Components of this second embodiment thatare the same as, or similar to, components of the first embodiment willbe like numerical designations, with an “a” suffix being used todistinguish those of the second embodiment.

With reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, there is shown a platform section 12awhich is, or may be, basically the same as in the first embodiment.However, instead of having a counterweight section 14 of a plurality ofindividual counterweight members 15, there is one single continuouscounter-balance member 14 a located below the edge portion of theplatform section 12 a. As can be seen in FIG. 14, the counterweightsection 14 a has a cross-section substantially similar to thecounter-balance members 15 of the first embodiment.

As an alternative, the counter-balance section 14 a of the secondembodiment could have the same basic configuration but would not havethe continuous counter-balance member with the chamber extendingthroughout its length. Rather, there would be partitions such as shownat 92 between the two cross-members 94, with each having their separatevalve outlet/inlet to insert the counter-balancing water into theinterior of that section 92.

A benefit of this second embodiment is that the counter-balance member90 a extends for a much greater distance to provide more weight to thecounter-balance members which in turn would permit these to be somewhatshallower in the depth dimension. Thus, when there is a tilting of theflotation platform 12, there would be a much greater amount of totalweight of the counter-balance member 90 for a given depth dimension sothat it would permit even less upward counter balancing movement.Alternatively, the depth of the counter-balance section 90 a could bemade more shallow to position the center of gravity of thecounter-balance at a higher level.

It is obvious that various modifications could be made to thisembodiment without departing from the basic teachings of the presentinvention.

While the present invention is illustrated by description of severalembodiments and while the illustrative embodiments are described indetail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in anyway limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additionaladvantages and modifications within the scope of the appended claimswill readily appear to those sufficed in the art. The invention in itsbroader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details,representative apparatus and methods, and illustrative examples shownand described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such detailswithout departing from the spirit or scope of applicants' generalconcept.

1. (canceled)
 2. (canceled)
 3. An inflatable dock assembly comprising;a) an inflatable platform section having a perimeter and comprising: i.a main central flotation section which has a flotation chamber and whichcomprises a drop stitch structure which further comprises upper andlower drop stitch sheets, with a core of threads connected to andextending between said upper and lower drop stitch layers, with thethreads extending substantially throughout the flotation structure, andwith said upper and lower drop stitch layers comprising at least asubstantial portion of upper and lower layers of the platform; ii. aperimeter closure section arranged to enclose a region between the upperand lower drop stitch closure portion sheets to form an edge enclosuresection around the platform section; b) said counterweight sectioncomprising a water containing section comprising a water containingstructure or structures of a flexible stowable material and positionedin a manner so that the water contained in the structure or structuresis at or near the perimeter of the platform section, and a substantialportion or all of the contained water is at or below outside water levelwhere the platform section is floating and in its unloaded condition,said water containing structure or structures being arranged in apattern around the perimeter of the platform section so that when adownward force is imposed at any one location on a first side of theplatform section to tend to tilt the platform section, said downwardforce is reacted through an approximate pivot location in or at theplatform section to an opposite second location or locations of theplatform to apply a lifting force to one or more of the structure orstructures at said second location or locations which react to apply acounterbalancing force to resist said downward force on the oppositefirst side of the platform and thus resist tilting of the platformsection at said one location at which the downward force is applied. 4.The assembly as recited in claim 3, wherein the perimeter closuresection comprises two bonding edge portions which extend in overlappingrelationship two adjacent edge portions of the upper and lower sheets ofthe drop stitch structure to form a water proof seal.
 5. The assembly asrecited in claim 3, wherein the water in said water containing sectionis substantially at least at, or close to, a level of a bottomhorizontal surface of said platform section in a manner that if oneportion the inflatable dock section near an edge portion is forced downinto the water, at least a portion of the water containing section tendsto be lifted out of the water to counteract and/or limit moreeffectively downward movement of said one portion of the inflatabledock.
 6. The assembly as recited in claim 3, wherein said watercontaining section comprises a plurality of water containing structureswhich are at spaced locations around the perimeter of the platformsection, each of these water containing structures defining a watercontaining chamber with a valve to fill the chamber or empty thechamber.
 7. The assembly as recited in claim 6, wherein at least some ofthe counter containing structures have upper edge portions to connect toa bottom surface of a platform section by a water tight connection to aportion of a bottom surface of the platform section.
 8. The assembly asrecited in claim 3, wherein said platform section has a perimeter with arectangular configuration with four corners, and there are at least fourwater containing structures which are located at or near corner membersof the rectangular platform section.
 9. The assembly as recited in claim3, wherein said platform section has a perimeter with a rectangularconfiguration, and the water containing section comprises at least fourwater containing structures which are at approximate mid-locations at ornear the four edge portions of the rectangular perimeter closure sectionof the platform section.
 10. The assembly as recited in claim 3, whereinthere is at least one water containing structure which is elongate andextends along at least a substantial length of at least one side of theperimeter of the platform section.
 11. The assembly as recited in claim10, wherein there is a plurality of said elongate water containingstructures which extend along a plurality of substantial lengths of aplurality of sides of the perimeter of the platform section.
 12. Theassembly as recited in claim 11, wherein said elongate water containingstructures define a continuous water containing chamber extendingthrough said water containing structures.
 13. The assembly as recited inclaim 10, wherein there is at least one partition member or memberslocated in the elongate water containing structure to separate anelongate chamber in said water containing structure to a plurality ofchambers of the structure.
 14. A method of providing and stabilizing aninflatable dock assembly and said method comprising; a) providing a maincentral flotation section by providing a drop stitch structure whichcomprises upper and lower drop stitch sheets, with a core of threadsconnected to and extending between said upper and lower drop stitchlayers, with the threads extending substantially throughout theflotation structure, and with said upper and lower drop stitch layerscomprising at least a substantial portion of upper and lower layers ofthe platform: b) enclosing a perimeter region extending around andbetween the upper and lower drop stitch closure portion by bonding anedge enclosure section around the perimeter region of the upper andlower drop stitch layers; c) providing a counterweight section by firstproviding a water containing section comprising a water containingstructure or structures of a flexible stowable material; d) positioningthe structure or structures so that water contained in the structure orstructures is at or near the perimeter of the perimeter of the platform,with a substantial portion or all of the contained water being at orbelow water level when the platform section is floating in its unloadedcondition; e) arranging the water containing structure or structures ina pattern to be present at or near the perimeter and in a pattern aroundthe perimeter of the platform section so that when a downward force isimposed at one location at a first side of the platform section to tendto tilt the platform section, said downward force is reacted through anapproximate pivot location in or at the platform section to an oppositesecond location or locations of the structure or structures to apply alifting force to one or more of the structure or structures on theopposite second location or locations to apply a counterbalancing forceto resist said downward force and thus resist the tilting of theplatform section at said one location.
 15. The method as recited inclaim 14, further comprising positioning the water containing section atleast at, or close to, a level of a bottom horizontal surface of saidplatform section in a manner that if one portion the inflatable docksection near an edge portion is forced down into the water, at least aportion of the water containing section tends to be lifted out of thewater to counteract to limit downward movement of said one portion ofthe inflatable dock.
 16. The method as recited in claim 14, furthercomprising positioning a plurality of water containing structures atspaced locations around the perimeter of the platform section, providingeach of these water containing structures with water through a valve.17. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising providing atleast some of the water containing structures with upper edge portionsand connecting the edge portions to a bottom surface of a platformsection by a water tight connection to a portion of a bottom surface ofthe platform section.
 18. The method as recited in claim 14, whereinsaid platform section has a perimeter with a rectangular configurationwith four corners, said method further comprising placing at least fourwater containing structures at or near the corner members of therectangular platform section.
 19. The method as recited in claim 14,wherein said platform section has a perimeter with a rectangularconfiguration, said method further comprising positioning at least fourwater containing structures at approximate mid-locations at or near thefour edge portions of the rectangular perimeter closure section of theplatform section.
 20. The method as recited in claim 14, furthercomprising providing said water containing section with at least oneelongate water containing portion of the water containing structure toextend along a substantial length of the perimeter of the platformsection.
 21. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprisingproviding a plurality of elongate water containing structures positionednear or adjacent to a plurality of elongate perimeter sections of theperimeter.
 22. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein said perimeterhas at least four perimeter edge portions which comprise a substantialportion of the perimeter of the flotation section, said methodcomprising arranging said water containing structures as a continuouswater containing chamber extending through substantially all of thestructure water containing portions.